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I don't think we're in Shibuya anymore
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Post by Chiaki Kuroda on Aug 23, 2018 14:20:25 GMT
Routine, it was both the bane and the foundation of life, a life lived of constant excitement would soon become bland and draining, but a life without excitement wasn’t worth living. Not that there was a whole lot of excitement onboard the train, the same faces every day, the same mix of uniforms and suits, of casual clothes and formal. You didn’t even have to talk to the people here to learn about their lives, the builder there who rushed home every afternoon to spend time with his kids, the secretary nervous about messing up on her first job, little snatches of overheard conversation, letters and packages. A microcosm of the city captured in a single heartbeat, a metal tube packed with strangers who knew all about one another. Chiaki’s finger’s tightened on the handrail she was clutching, while she brought her free hand up to brush back a loose strand of her hear, brushing across her headphones as the train passed through a tunnel, the carriage plunging into darkness as the sound of the wheel against the track seemed to intensify, echoing around the walls of the tunnel before the train pulled clear, falling back to the regular click-clack as the carriage swayed on its onward journey. The girl let her hazel eyes dart around, glancing out of the window as they rounded a bend, the city passing by the window as a movement in the corner of her eyes caught her attention. The girl’s lips curled up into an easy smile, the kind that you found plastered over everyone’s face as she caught sight of a toddler scampering down the aisle of the train, chased by his harried mother. There wasn’t even any thought in the girl’s head as she let her bad drop down to the floor with a soft thump as her hand snaked out to wrap around the toddler’s waist, bringing his break for freedom to an abrupt halt. “Hold on there little guy,” The girl traded smiles with the mother as she straightened, watching the woman pull her kid back to their seat as she bent to scoop up her bag, offering the crowd around her an apologetic look. It’s not that there was anything wrong with helping out a mother like that, but the train was crowded enough as it was without her bumping into people and jostling them around, luckily the commuters were mostly students, a smattering of different school uniforms, some from rival schools and some from her own, she could even spot a few members of her class tucked away in the crowd, at least a few of them she recognised, well to be fair Kaede Oriane was fairly recognisable no matter who you were. Chiaki offered the girl a small nod as she grasped the handhold again, glancing up at the LED display as it flashed up a new announcement, the whole crowd seeming to come alive in a shifting mass as everyone prepared to disembark at Central Shibuya, the small jostling of before forgotten in anticipation of the rush that was to come. Ry Napraleon |
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Post by Ry Napraleon on Aug 23, 2018 14:46:12 GMT
Ry was definitely going to get fired now, he could feel it. Feel it in his skin, in his very bones.
And in the empty space in his pocket where his missing key is supposed to be.
He sighed, ruffling his hair in irritation. Ever since he encountered that stupid red lizard and the boy that claimed to be its 'tamer', Ry had been feeling preoccupied. And that preoccupation has led him to forgetting things at home, like his phone, his bag, and most importantly, his key to his motorbike, which he required to to deliver pizzas. Like right now.
He is now the lamest pizza deliveryman in the world, using the Shibuya train to deliver pizza, of all things. Just because he left his wallet behind at home and cannot afford a cab, of course.
So there he is, standing in the middle of the crowded train, with pizza in hand. Of course. What a wonderful day.
He looked around, trying to distract himself from thoughts of being a terrible deliveryman and the strange occurrence from a few days ago, with what the boy called a 'digimon'. Who could easily forget something like that? Not Ry, for sure, not anyone, anyways.
Ry saw a girl, around his age or a bit younger, pick up a small toddler who had been somehow running around the train. Ry thought that it was probably an act of charity, which was sorely missing these days, or a very bad attempt at a kidnapping. In broad daylight, with easily over fifty witnesses. Plus she looked very sweet, well he thought so at least.
Well, regardless, Ry thought he may as well keep watch. Just in case it actually was a really bad kidnapping attempt. |
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Post by Kaede Oriane on Aug 23, 2018 15:12:06 GMT
When it came to going about her life, Kaede was struggling to find her own purpose here in this world... With so many ideas and possibilities out there to muddy the waters, it felt difficult for someone like her to quite get a foothold on things. Everything just sorta felt as if the odds were against her; and this was just her going about her life!
What a frustrating thought in general...
Kaede had to struggle to even get out of bed this morning, and the tired eyes on her face perfectly conveyed her mental exhaustion. As the train bounced about across the tracks, the schoolgirl tried to keep focus as she gazed at the setting of Shibuya pass by... A distraction to all this noise and clutter in the train. Everything felt numb sense-wise. Passing conversations sounded mumbled, the air felt stale, and overall her stomach just felt queasy. If she had the option to, she would have absolutely stayed in bed today... but that would have just led to her getting yelled at. She might have been lazy, but she wasn't going to skip school for no reason.
The girl sighed as she waited for the train to come to a stop, she glancing over to Chiaki... A nice girl in her class, but she didn't really know them well. She did sorta just keep to herself regularly... She didn't really feel like wanting to bother others with her presence. She closed her eyes briefly as she shook her head up and down once towards them; people beginning to disembark finally. Not wanting to try and squeeze past the crowd, Kaede waited for the majority of the moving people to get out before she'd sluggishly try to do the same; waiting for a tall, blonde-ish young man to move... unless this wasn't their destination?
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Post by Chiaki Kuroda on Aug 23, 2018 20:59:20 GMT
There was an art to surviving the train system at peak time, of being able to navigate the flow of the crowd as it ebbed and flowed, funnelled through the small openings in the time available. It was a skill that sadly seemed to pass Chiaki by, a brushed shoulder span her round, the tramp of feet sent her scrambling to the wall, clutching at her shoulder as she pressed up against the seat, as the relentless crowd passed by. Chiaki had never been to Africa, never been on Safari but she'd seen TV and heard about it. The press of the crowd, their nigh unstoppable march, it put her in mind of a herd of Wildebeast. The observation brought a small smile to her lips as she clutched her bag to her chest, brown eyes flicking from side to side as she looked for a gap, a way to slip into the crowd and make her way onto the platform. Only luck didn't seem to be with her, everyone had the same idea, everyone wanted to get home as quickly as possible and had no room to worry about the girl trying to make her way into the mix. Not even a single space appeared as the muffled sound of the announcements drifted in from outside. It didn't look like she was the only one pushed to the side by the crowd, through the press of bodies the brunette could see a traces of other people, the fleeting glimpse of their bodies pressed up against the walls. It seemed to take an eternity, the crowd flowing like the sea past her but in the end it could only have been a heartbeat, a handful of seconds for the train to empty, for the crowd that held her in place to vanish, leaving Chiaki to clutch her shoulder and stumble towards the door...a door that slid hut in the girl's face with a mechanical finality. The thump of the sealing doors mere inches from the girl's face as she stuttered to a stop, one hand reaching out to brace herself against the unmoving metal of the door, a dull thud echoing through the carriage. "Oh come on, really? Hey, open up, we're still in here!" A brief look of annoyance danced over the girl's face as she knocked on the door once before turning around to look at the man and girl still in the carriage. "I guess the doors are jammed or something. I'm sure they'll get them open in a sec."Ry Napraleon | Kaede Oriane |
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Post by Ry Napraleon on Aug 24, 2018 2:06:27 GMT
As the doors opened to let the people out in Central Shibuya, Ry frowned as he saw that the toddler had left the girl's hands, and looked up to see that the child was safely with the actual mother. He sighed. Good, so there was no kidnapping here today.
And then he remembered the actual reason he was in the train today: the pizza in his hand.
Shit, this was his stop.
"Hey wait!" he called out to no one specifically as the warning bells began to ding overhead, everyone had already rushed out as quickly as possible to get to their destination.
For some reason, he had a lot more trouble than usual in trying to push himself forward to the front of the train to get out, perhaps because he was trying to prevent the pizza from getting squashed to the point of annihilation.
When everyone had finally left, Ry actually managed to get to the door - only for it to slam shut in his face. "Hey!" he cried out, thumping the door with a fist whilst trying to balance the pizza on his other hand.
After a few moments and with the door not letting up, he sighed, and noticed that there were two other girls stuck in the same predicament as him, one of them being the girl he was staring at earlier.
When the girl tried to reassure him them that the doors should soon open up, Ry sighed again, "Yeah, hope so," he ruffled his hair instead with his other hand, and then sat down in the now empty seat, "Well, there is now no way I am going to deliver this in time before it getting cold, so... anyone up for pizza?" he offered, opening the top of the box to reveal a large pepperoni pizza. |
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Post by Kaede Oriane on Aug 25, 2018 23:05:40 GMT
You'd think that this would be easy enough... getting off the train wasn't exactly a tricky thing to do in the grand shceme of things; she has done this hundreds of times now! It was supposed to be a pretty simple process... So why did the train doors have to close on them NOW? Kaede flinched seeing the train doors shut before she, Chiaki, and the blonde-haired young man could be able to step out.
Crap, crap, crap! This was her stop too! The sandy brown-haired girl could not help but adopt a worried look, her anxiety starting to get the better of her. This was NOT how she wanted her day to go... Was she going to miss school today or something? Seeing their third trapped occupant bang at the door did not help reassure her either... Not good. Not good at all. "... Ugh. This is going to go against my record..." the girl dejectedly spoke, struggling to find any good merits to this.
Her parents were going to be pissed.
The teenager sighed as she sat back down, frustration building up inside her. God damn... Could anything go right for once? She was tempted to accept a slice of the pizza offered, but she did not feel comfortable accepting free food in general. "S-Sorry... I am not that hungry right now." she politely declined, though she would have been lying it was not tempting. Instead, she turned her attention to outside... hoping that someone would notice that the doors were stuck.
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Post by Chiaki Kuroda on Aug 26, 2018 12:21:17 GMT
The smell of the hot pizza drifting through the carriage was tempting, there was something about a fresh pizza that spoke to an almost primitive part of the brain. Without thinking about it Chiaki had taken a step towards the man, catching her hand in the air, reaching out halfway to the box as she managed to stop herself, giving the man a questioning look, "Are you sure that's gonna be ok? I'm sure they're gonna get us out in no time and I wouldn't want you to get into trouble because of it..."
The twitch of her hand towards the box was a true expression of her intent if there was a free pizza on offer, who wouldn't be tempted after all. It was Kaede's statement that drew the girl's attention as she span around to face her classmate, brow knitting together in worry. "Wait...you don't think they'd hold this against us, do you? I mean it's not like it was our fault the train door decided it wanted to close on us now, is it? We could probably get a letter from...um someone. Maybe the station master or something." The girl span around to face the man as well, "and you could get one explaining to your boss why you were late." It never occurred to her to question why a pizza deliveryman was using the train to get to where he needed to go, it was unusual yes, but it had happened so there must be some kind of explanation. She could always ask the man when they got out of here...the man whose name she had completely forgotten to ask amongst the stress of the situation.
Biting down on her lips the teenager pulled her hand back down to her side, bending forward in a quick bow. "I'm sorry, I've completely forgotten my manners haven't I?. I'm Chiaki, Kuroda Chiaki." Straightening the girl offered Ry a quick smile as she nodded her head towards the door pulling a face as she looked at her companions, "It doesn't look like they've noticed us yet so we might be stuck in here for a little while. I guess we might as well make ourselves comfortable." Matching actions to her speech the girl dropped back, settling into the closest chair with a sigh. This probably would at least end up with a lecture from a teacher, and that was never fun.
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Post by Ry Napraleon on Aug 26, 2018 15:02:12 GMT
Contrary to Ry's laid-back nature at the moment, the two girls he was stuck with in the currently stopped train were more anxious than he was. Which is understandable, considering they were on their way to school, though at the same time, he had always been late for school and never cared about it at all. He shrugged, "It's just the one time you two will be late, and you can't control this situation, I'm sure they'll let you off."
He gave the pizza a passing glance, then back to the girl who asked about his pizza, "Sure, I'm going to get in trouble anyways, and this is going to be my last delivery of the day," not officially, but he will definitely have to make up a reason to leave early, fuck delivering pizzas by train. He got a slice and took a bite, then pushed the pizza a little more towards the girl, "Take one, doesn't matter."
"I don't really care about my boss, fortunately," he shrugged again, a pizza delivery job wasn't that great. It was a job, but if he lost this one, he could probably just get another one. Flipping burgers, or something.
"Oh, uh," he quickly placed the pizza slice back in its box and managed a quick bow whilst sitting down as the girl introduced himself, and bowed to the other girl too, "I'm Ry, Ry Napraleon."
He took a small glance to the left and right, and then took a passing glance out the window, where he could see absolutely no one in the station platforms, "Yeah, I mean hopefully," he gave a crooked smile, "If you want, we could always pull the train alarms," he motioned up with a nod, towards the red alarm button located next to one of the train's doors. He couldn't care less, but if the two girls were that desperate, he didn't mind just going along with them either. |
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Post by Kaede Oriane on Aug 27, 2018 15:32:41 GMT
If there was one thing that was at least made pretty clear to Kaede, it was that at the very least Ry here seemed at the very least fairly cool and collected... It didn't offer too much comfort in the long-run, but it was at least nice knowing that there was someone here managing to keep their head screwed on here. Chiaki here also seemed not too worried... though it did just make her feel insecure about her own emotions. God, why did she have to be so weak-hearted?
Ry seemed fine with handing out the pizza even knowing he was likely to get tacked off for this... It did cause her to hesitate briefly, but if he said it was fine? Ultimately, Kaede ended up taking a slice and nibbling it slowly, allowing the taste of cheese and marinara to soothe her taste buds and giving her something to keep her mind occupied.
"I'm not really worried about our record at school... I'm honestly more worried what my parents will say to me." the girl somewhat morosely spoke as she gazed outside. Her parents were a bit... uppity, and she didn't want to give them another reason to be stressed out. Kaede pulled out her phone as she gazed at the time, it already looking like she and Chiaki were going to miss first period. Goooood. She sighed as she pocketed the device, lounging back in her seat.
The train alarms were an option, but she felt like that was an absolute last resort. She was already going to get yelled at today... no reason trying to make more of a fuss over it. "They'll notice us eventually... I hope." the girl mused, briefly rubbing the back of her head. "... Kaede Oriane. I go to the same school as Chiaki, but I guess thats obvious." she briefly introduced herself, still eating her slice much slower than the others. There really wasn't a rush now that they were in here... It was just going to be a matter of if they can get out soon.
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Post by Chiaki Kuroda on Aug 27, 2018 18:44:04 GMT
"The uniforms are a little bit of a giveaway," Chiaki agreed as she claimed her own slice of the hot pizza, settling back in her seat as she juggling the hot slice of dough, taking a moment to savour the smell of the hot cheese and pepperoni before she took a bite, a soft sound of contentment slipping from her throat. "You know, it's really hard to complain too much with some fresh pizza around..." she glanced over at the carriage and shook her head, "Well, almost fresh anyway. The train takes a little longer than normal delivery vehicles." The girl turned her head to the side, glancing out of the window at the platform that seemed strangely quiet, her feet kicking idly in the air as she took another bite of her pizza as she glanced back at Kaede. "Do you think they'd really call our parents? I mean it's not like we miss a lot of class or anything."
There was a slightly worried look on Chiaki's face as she considered that, she didn't think her parents would say much about a missed lesson...her grandmother on the other hand. An instinctive shudder slipped down the girl's back as she looked at the door again, imagining the acerbic fury that might be waiting for her when she got home..."Well I guess, we're screwed either way now so we might as well get comfortable right? Is that bakery by the school still open?" A wry smile pulled up the corner of her lips, "It probably wouldn't hurt too much to go home prepared for the worst. Although," The girl gave Ry a smile, "I dunno if that bribe would work so well with your boss, they do an absolutely awesome strawberry tart though, enough to melt even the hardest of hearts...at least I hope it is."
She fell silent for a moment before glancing over at Ry, shooting him an apologetic smile. "So...and you can totally tell me to shut up and mind my own business...but why were you here anyway? I mean it's the best way to school for us, but I'd expect a pizza delivery by a car or bike. Taking the train doesn't really match the image I had in my head."
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Post by Ry Napraleon on Aug 28, 2018 5:33:57 GMT
Ry smiled a little when he saw the two girls, at the very least, take up on his offer to eat the pizza. That showed him that they were able to calm down, at least a little bit, to not worry about etiquette regarding the pizza. That was something.
They didn't seemed alarmed enough to turn on the train emergency alarm system either, so he shrugged and left it be. Hey, he at least had a reason to have been missing out work, so did the two girls. Knowing his boss though, he would have spun it somehow to place the blame back to Ry. He shook his head, there wasn't much he could do about that, he guessed.
Ry grunted when Kaede brought up her parents, "Parents don't control your life, well they can't as long as you try hard enough," he bit off his tongue long enough to restrain himself from spitting at the thought of his father, "The sooner you realise that, the better off you are. Prime example of that, right here," he said, pointing at himself. Though, anyone else may have said that he was a terrible role model, but Ry liked to think otherwise.
Ry gave a small nod when Kaede introduced herself, acknowledging her. They did wear the same uniforms, he did notice that since the start, but he wasn't sure if he should have brought it up. After all, they might not be in the same class, Tokyo schools are huge, but he may as well ask, "Are you guys same class then?"
Ry couldn't help but grin wider when the other girl innocently brought up bribing his boss and potentially their own teachers to let them off. He shrugged, "My boss is pretty mean but hey, doesn't hurt to try right?" he chuckled, "Especially if this bakery is as good as you say it is."
Ry sighed when Chiaki brought up Ry's lack of vehicle, "Well, I've been thinking of some stuff I encountered a while back," which was putting 'big talking red lizard' mildly, "So I've been more of a clusterbrain than usual, and, well, forgot my keys. But at least I tried to deliver pizza!"
He glanced at his now half-eaten pizza, "Well it failed, but still." |
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Post by Kaede Oriane on Aug 30, 2018 17:43:59 GMT
Honestly, it probably WAS a bit obvious they went to high school... wasn't it? Kaede let out a glum sigh as she tilted her attention outside... it looking like people outside were also wondering why the train doors weren't working either. Wonder how long it would take for the train people to notice that no one was able to enter or leave? It was a thought that crossed the girl's mind slightly as she too another bite, snapping back into realiaty as Chiaki spoke to her. "I don't think so, but they'll still probably mark us off as tardy. My parents are the type of people who helicopter over me... and it does get a bit frustrating." the girl somewhat glumly spoke, nonchalantly shrugging at Ry's suggestion. It was good advice, but she didn't have the guts to really act out on it. "Easier said than done honestly as long as I live under their roof... I'm just kinda waiting for the day they eventually snap or something... They can't kick me out till I'm eightteen at least. Probably go and try to rent an apartment or something then." she briefly mused, at least displaying that she has had thought about those things.
You know what? It really wasn't worth her time worrying about things. Finishing up her slice; she kicked her feet back onto one of the seats as she laid her backside down, gazing up at the ceiling of the train. "Yeeeeah, I guess. I mean, look on the bright side I suppose... free pizza and essentially a day-off, even if we're gonna get roasted later." the girl slightly smiled, managing to even let out a chuckle at Ry's little tale. "A plus for effort at least. I have difficulty even just managing a C effort-wise these days." she briefly spoke, pulling out her phone with the intent of trying to call her parents. May as well let them know shit happened early before they find out on their own, right?
"I-I don't really know Chiaki-kun too well... I know we're in history-class, but I don't really well... socialize I guess. Sorry about that by the by, I don't mean to ever sound rude being quiet or anything." Kaede replied back regarding if she knew Chiaki or not... However, her attention was drawn to the lack of a signal on her phone. Odd, especially since it was working fine just a bit ago. "Err, hey... Are any of your phones acting weird? I'm trying to call my mother, but the signal is shite here."
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Post by Chiaki Kuroda on Sept 2, 2018 12:06:02 GMT
Chiaki couldn't help but grin at Ry's earnestness, a bright smile that lit up her face as she smirked over at him. "What she said, A for effort, besides, I'm really not gonna be the one to complain about a free meal," the girl stated happily as she leant forward to claim another slice of the pizza.
Juggling the hot slice in one hand the girl took a bite as her free hand fished in her pocket, delicate fingers wrapping around the phone that rested there, fingers flicking the screen on as she let her hazel eyes flick down to stare at the screen. The girl's easygoing smile faded ever so slightly, her eyebrows clenched together fingers tapping at the screen. The pizza in her hand slipped down, almost forgotten, her phone taking up more of her attention as her pair of hazel eyes glanced up to look over at the others and then the door. "It's not just you...I don't have any signal either. That's...you think maybe it's cause of the train, maybe we don't...have a signal cause of the train?" Even as she said it Chiaki knew that there wasn't an element of truth to her words. Her phone normally worked on the train, she'd always had a signal before. Her phone always worked, even in the middle of the station...so now.
Pushing herself up off her seat the girl held her phone up, waving it around in the air as if she could force a signal to come through by pure force of will. In the end, it was a futile effort though, no signal existed, it was as if the train had turned into a Faraday cage, whisking away any kind of electronic signal for the three of them. Face drawn into a frown, an unsure folding of her brow marred Chiaki's features as the girl turned to the others. "Think maybe whatever fault's going on with the doors might be affecting the signal?" That was all she managed to get out as the train made a hissing noise, the distinctive chug of an engine powering up echoing down through the carriage as she fell silent, a worried look painted across her face she the teenager stared at the platform, the slightest hint of terror at a situation sliding away from her control sparking in the depths of her mind.
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Post by Ry Napraleon on Sept 2, 2018 12:40:37 GMT
"I mean, I think being the heir of a conglomerate automatically means that my parents-- well my dad-- is a helicopter parent too," Ry shrugged, recalling the memories of his own childhood, "I kicked myself out of the house when I was sixteen and doing a few part-time jobs, and I mean, yeah he sends cars to bring me back home and I keep hiding from them, but I mean I'm still pretty free!" he laughed awkwardly, and then cleared his throat to try and pry away the depressing truth from what he meant to be a joke.
Ry managed a nod and a half-hearted smile at the depressing notes from the girl, he knew his life sucked, he wondered what it was that made the Kaede so... sad. He didn't have much else to say, except to bring up the pizza and motion it to the two girls, to offer them more pizza.
But then she mentioned that her phone was acting weird, and Chiaki's too? Right, phones existed, he completely forgot about that. He slipped out his phone and then noticed that his phone wouldn't even turn on, "What the hell? I swear I charged this earlier before I left, it was at one hundred percent," he grunted, pressing the on button repeatedly to try to get it working. Sighing, he gave up and slipped it in his bag instead, now unusable for the rest of the day.
And then the train engine came alive.
"Uh oh," though that was probably a bit of an understatement, "Uh, do you think now is a good time to try the alarm?" he asked, pointing to the big red button next to the train doors. |
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